AJ Hoops

By Aidan Joly

Wichita State is now expected to make the move that all of the college basketball world expected them to make in parting ways with Gregg Marshall after allegations of physical and verbal assault against players, including allegations he punched a player during a practice in 2015.

The Shockers have not yet named an interim coach, but will be the second high-level coaching job to open up in the past month after Pat Chambers resigned at Penn State on October 21 after allegations into how he treated players and coaches, including accusations of racist behavior.

The opening in Wichita should attract quality names, despite the fact they are in the AAC. Marshall was the 15^th highest-paid head coach in the country according to USA Today Sports at $3.5 million annually. So, the expectations are high and winning games is a must.

That said, here are eight potential names to replace Marshall, in no particular order.

1. Chris Jans, New Mexico State head coach

Jans spent from 2007-2014 on staff under Marshall at Wichita State, and has been the head coach at New Mexico State since 2017. He is a proven winner at the lower levels, having gone 82-17 in three years at New Mexico State, including a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and what was likely to be a third this past March. However, the question here is if the administration will want someone in Marshall’s coaching tree, but some of the big money donors in Wichita backed Marshall, and they may back Jans as well.

• Earl Grant, College of Charleston head coach

Another former Marshall assistant, both at Winthrop and Wichita State spanning from 2004-2010. Grant has been at Charleston since 2014 and is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks. He has gone 118-79 in six years in Charleston with an NCAA Tournament appearance. The same issue and potential solution as Jans appears here as well.

• John Beilein, former Michigan and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach

Obligatory. Beilein’s resume and squeaky-clean reputation speaks for itself. He has been linked to every high-profile opening since unceremoniously resigning from the Cavaliers last February and that is sure to continue until he is picked up. This looks like an easy hire on the surface. However, there are other factors. Beilein is 67 years old and how long he has left in coaching should be considered. Another is if he wants to hold out for a bigger job, especially since he is seen as the favorite at Texas should they fire Shaka Smart. Beilein will be successful wherever he goes, and Wichita has the financial power to make this happen if Beilein wants it.

• Thad Matta, former Ohio State head coach

Matta seems to be the guy that the administration wants, according to multiple reports, but if he wants to come back for this job this late will be the question. He has been out of coaching since 2017 after resigning from Ohio State for health reasons but has since expressed interest in returning. However, 247 Sports has said he does not want the job immediately since there’s two weeks until the season starts, so an interim for a season and then hire Matta might be the move here. He is only 53, so he still has a good amount of coaching left in him. He has spent basically all his career in the Midwest and had great success at Butler and Xavier before they became big names. He has a high profile in college basketball circles and might be the guy they go with.

• Kyle Keller, Stephen F. Austin head coach

Keller has been everywhere in the Midwest, with assistant coach jobs at Oklahoma State, Kansas and Texas A&M before becoming the head coach at SFA in 2016. He has led the Lumberjacks to a pair of 28-win seasons with an NCAA Tournament appearance and looked good to get a second one before the tournament was canceled this year. Oh yeah, and he beat Duke. He just signed an extension at SFA, but it’s only a matter of time before he moves up in the ranks.

• Kyle Linstead, Minnesota assistant

Another Marshall disciple, he was at Wichita from 2015-2018 and has been an assistant under Richard Pitino at Minnesota since. Before that, he spent 15 years at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, turning it into one of the best prep programs in the country and a great recruiting pipeline. He has a ton of ties to the region and it would be surprising if he doesn’t at least get a call.

• Adrian Griffin, Toronto Raptors assistant

A Wichita native, Griffin has expressed strong interest in this job in the past 24 hours. Griffin spent 10 years in the NBA and has coached in the NBA since 2008. He won a title with the Raptors in 2018. He was reported as a candidate for the Oklahoma City Thunder opening earlier this fall and this might be his chance to get a head coaching job.

• Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State head coach

I’ll admit, this one is a big dark horse. McCollum has been the head coach at Northwest Missouri State since 2009 and has won a pair of Division II national titles in that time with a 272-76 record. He has strong regional ties to the area as well. It’s unlikely, but if Wichita wants to get weird, he’s the guy to do it for.

By Aidan Joly

When Ohio State beat Kentucky during non-conference season last year, John Calipari declared the Buckeyes as “a top, 1, 2, 3 team” in the country. 11-1 at the time, we had a right to think so. They had blowout wins over Villanova, North Carolina (before the implosion) and Penn State, plus another win against Cincinnati.

But then, the Buckeyes lost four in a row and six of eight to start 2-6 in Big Ten play. However, it did even out as OSU finished 21-10 and would have gotten an easy tournament nod. This year, Chris Holtmann’s squad will look to be more consistently good.

Though Ohio State loses two great players in Kaleb Wesson and Luther Muhammad and another solid role guy in DJ Carton, they will still be very solid.

Starting in the backcourt, CJ Watson is a great all-around player, having averaged 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists this past year, having gotten a larger role after Carton took a leave of absence and later transferred. On the other side, shooting guard Duane Washington is one of the top sharpshooters in the league, a 39.3% three-point percentage en route to averaging 11.5 points per game. He is a multi-level shooter who brings a lot of value to the team.

Off the bench comes the big name in Seth Towns. He enters the Ohio State program as a grad transfer from Harvard. He has had multiple injuries that has not allowed him to play since the 2017-18 season, but he was on as a sophomore, averaging 16.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, winning the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2018. If he is healthy, he can be a very good player for the Buckeyes, with the ability to play both as a guard and a forward. As for the other transfer, former Bucknell guard Jimmy Sotos recently received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible this year, considering Abel Porter will not be available this year. He averaged 11.5 PPG to go along with a three-point percentage of 37.1% last year. Lastly, freshman Eugene Brown III will add depth on the bench and defensive specialist Musa Jallow will help in a smaller role.

The frontcourt is missing Wesson and his paint-clogging abilities. As for replacing him, the main piece is Justice Sueing, who transferred in from California. The question with him is the health as well, since he underwent foot surgery, so sat out entirely instead of practicing with the team. If he is good to go can play multiple positions but will see the most time at small forward, where he averaged 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game two seasons ago. Kyle Young and EJ Liddell will be the other two starters, with both having an ability to be positive contributors on both ends of the floor. Young in particular is an extremely physical player and great rebounder, and a glue guy for them. The Buckeyes’ January slump directly coincided with Young missing time due to an ankle injury. Liddell is a great shot blocker, having averaged almost one per game, ninth in the Big Ten in block rate in his freshman season.

There isn’t a ton of frontcourt depth, but it’s there.  Freshman Zed Key will add to it as an underrated big man. He fits the team mold as a strong inside scorer. He probably won’t have a huge role immediately, but his minutes will probably depend on how he does at the beginning of the year. Lastly, sophomore Ibrahima Diallo is raw, but he’s the only true center on the roster at 6-10. Because of that, he’ll be given chances to play but if he struggles Holtmann may prefer to utilize other players in this deep group.

The ceiling for this team is high. They have talent inside and out. The Big Ten is very deep. If Towns and Sueing are healthy and they do a little bit of developing overall, this should be a very good team. A second weekend run in the NCAA Tournament feels like it’s a realistic outcome here and one that they should be happy with.

By Aidan Joly

It can be slow. It can be ugly. It can be boring. But, it’s good. Tony Bennett has built Virginia into one of the best programs in the country with that defensive philosophy that propels them to success. And don’t forget, they’re the defending champions heading into the 2020-21 season.

The 2019-20 version of the team, however, was different from the 2018-19 team that led them to a title. The defense last year led the country for the third straight year in scoring while being one of the worst offenses in the country. In 2018-19, the offense led by Kyle Guy, D’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome was the fourth-best in the country. The scoring just wasn’t there in 2019-20, but this year’s squad more resembles the 2018-19 team, despite the departures of Mamadi Diakite and Braxton Key from last year, but probably the best sit-out transfer from last year joins and a highly-touted freshman class makes them scary.

Let’s start with the frontcourt. Like I just said, Sam Hauser was probably the best sit-out transfer after coming in from Marquette. He averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles two years ago as they were one of the best teams in the Big East. He is dangerous from three-point range, a type of piece that the Cavaliers just didn’t have last year. He’ll be the guy at the four.

The top freshman coming in will start at the three, Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim in the No. 37 ranked prospect according to 247 Sports after averaging 32 points per game last year at Blair Academy in New Jersey. He is also a great defender, so despite the fact that Bennett doesn’t like to put freshmen in the starting lineup, he is the best option here.

The man in the middle will once again be Jay Huff, the 7-1 center who averaged 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in just under 25 minutes per game last year. With the departure of Diakite, Huff is sure to have a larger role. On top of his good shooting, where he shot 35.8% from three last year, he is also a great shot blocker, where he averaged a pair of blocks per game, fourth in the ACC. He will be one of the leaders on defense.

Four guys will get playing time off the bench. Kody Stattman is back after averaging 3.6 PPG, as well as Francisco Caffaro and Justin McKoy after they had very limited roles last year, but may have larger ones. The last is a freshman, Kadin Shedrick.

In the backcourt, Kihei Clark will start at point guard. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game last year, one of the best point guards in the league. However, they relied on him too much with 37 minutes per game. It showed as he would get tired during games and his stats would show that. His turnovers per game skyrocketed from one to 3.8 per game. As a floor leader, however, Clark is as good as it gets. A year older, he can be a guy who is a primary focus point. This is why freshman Reece Beekman, the No. 66 ranked prospect from 247, is probably the most important for Bennett. If he plays like he’s supposed to, he can give Clark breathers and allow Bennett to have two ball-handlers on the floor at the same time.

In the other guard spot, look at Casey Morsell again. He was a major get for Bennett in the 2019 class but he hasn’t played up to his potential yet, averaging just 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game last year and had a dreadful 27.7% field goal percentage, by far the worst of the key contributors. He showed flashes of competency last year but will be carrying a load of minutes this year. He is a guy they have to rely on to improve. If not, his minutes will slip.

If Morsell doesn’t work out, they have options. Senior Thomas Woldetensae is solid, averaging 6.6 PPG last year, as well as freshman Carson McCorkle, a top 150 prospect, may see some minutes. We will have to see how he looks coming off of foot surgery, though. However, he is a great shooter, almost 55% in high school. As mentioned before, Beekman could get some minutes at the two as well.

If the expected offensive transformation works out, this team will look very similar to the 18-19 team. They won’t be as talented as that team was, but it’s realistic to say they will make a deep tournament run and compete to be college basketball’s first repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

By Aidan Joly

Relatively speaking, it’s hard to call a program that has won two national championships in the past five years under the radar. However, Villanova may be doing just that in its quest to win a third in six years.

The biggest story to come out of the program over the summer was that head coach Jay Wright was not going to be a candidate for the Philadelphia 76ers position. Wright said Villanova is where he wants to be, and that’s great for both sides as they stay in the national title conversation.

The Wildcats return everyone important except leading scorer Saddiq Bey, who leaves after two seasons and a likely lottery selection. Despite that loss, Villanova should be picking up the slack and be able to pick up right where they left off last spring.

As for the backcourt, it should remain the same. Both Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie return. Gillespie had a breakout junior season last year, averaging 15.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds per contest. With Bey gone, Gillespie can immediately be the guy to run this offense and take it to another level. As for Moore, he had a great freshman season as he averaged 11.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and shot 39.6% from three, leading the team.

As for the depth, there is a decent amount in the backcourt. Sophomore Bryan Antoine was highly-touted coming out of high school but had some injury problems his senior, and the lingering issues there limited him to just 16 games this past season. His usage will be interesting to see moving forward. The other guy here is Caleb Daniels, a 6-4 guard who is now eligible after transferring in from Tulane. He was great there, averaging 16.4 PPG two years ago with the Green Wave. He will be another option off the bench for the Wildcats.

The questions start in the frontcourt, where they have to replace Bey. Sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and senior Jermaine Samuels are both locks to start. The 6-9 Robinson-Earl tested the NBA Draft waters after averaging 10.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, but decided to return. He can step out and shoot the three a little bit and is quick, which allows him to take advantage of slower forwards. Samuels is not the best shooter from deep around, but makes up for it with his inside play. He averaged 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year, and will probably have a bigger role this year.

As for the third starter here it’s a bit of a question mark, but it could be answered by junior Cole Swider. Swider made 15 starts last season, with 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in just 18 minutes per contest. He blossomed in a big way as a sophomore, raising his three-point percentage from freshman year from 28.3% to 35.2%, and overall shooting percentage from 37.5% to 44.2%. With consistent playing time, he can be a guy to shore up the gap left by Bey.

Off the bench, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had a decreased role this past season, but will still get some playing time this season. Brandon Slater had a limited role as well, but did average 11.5 minutes per game, but scored sparingly. However, the one to watch is Eric Dixon. The 6-8 forward redshirted as a freshman last season, but with his frame he projects to be a great defensive player, and have a smooth touch in the paint for a big man with a good mid-range game. With all of these reserves in the front and backcourt, don’t be surprised if they get more playing time as the season goes on as the starters rest a bit down the stretch.

Looking into the season, they will play the 20-game slate in the Big East, where they should be at the top of the league, if not the favorite to win the league. They will also certainly be battle-tested during non-conference, being in the Mohegan Sun bubble, along with games against Arizona State, Virginia and Texas.

They should be the odds-on favorite to win the Big East, but due to Creighton it might be close. They are a top-five team in the country this year and are a threat to be the ones celebrating in Indianapolis this April.

By Aidan Joly

I’ll jump to it immediately. Baylor is a top three team in the country. If not for COVID-19 they would have been an easy No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and are one of the few teams that return nearly every important player.

Now, to take a look at one of the top depth charts in the country…

Starting with the backcourt, they have three great players in Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague. Scott Drew’s system emphasizes great guard play, and this is exactly that.

Butler was fantastic last year, leading the team in scoring with 16.0 PPG and shot 38.1% from three on his way to a unanimous All-Big 12 selection. He’s someone that can become a household name this season, if he isn’t already.

The other two are just as good. Looking at Mitchell, he’s great because of his defense. He was a semifinalist for Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 and won Newcomer of the Year. On offense, he can score a little bit, 9.9 PPG, but is a great passer as he led the team in assists with 3.8 per contest. Finally, Teague, one of the most hard-nosed players in the country and averaged 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 85% from the charity stripe.

As for the depth there, despite the fact that the rotation won’t change much from last year, is there. They lost Devante Bandoo, one of the best role players in the league, but they have Presbyterian transfer Adam Flagler along with Jordan Turner, who did not play as a freshman last season after being a high-ranking recruit. Jackson Moffatt, another freshman, played sparingly but will probably see more minutes. Finally, LJ Cryer, a high-ranked recruit enters, but probably won’t play as Drew doesn’t tend to play freshmen.

The frontcourt is where it gets interesting. This is the only place where the Bears lost a starter, Freddie Gillespie. That role will be filled mainly by Tristan Clark, who started two seasons ago and played well before a knee injury knocked him out for the season and didn’t get much playing time last year as he recovered. If his knee is good to go and he can look like what he did two years ago, he will be very dangerous.

The last starting position is a debate. The Bears don’t have a true center on their team, but the tallest player on the team is 7-0 freshman Zach Loveday. Now, he probably won’t play much, but maybe, just maybe, don’t be surprised if he does. Meanwhile, the Bears have Matthew Mayer, a 6-9 combo who can score in bursts and should see an uptick from 11 minutes per game last year. Another guy to watch is Mark Vital, another tough, gritty player and was a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. He might be the one getting the nod.

There are three more guys to talk about here. The first is Flo Thamba, who averaged nine minutes per game last year. He has raw talent and length that will help the Bears. Cameroon native and UNLV transfer Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua is eligible after sitting out last year, a rebound machine. Finally, four-star recruit Dain Dainja is there but will likely sit because he’s a freshman.

The outlook is pretty simple. Like I said before, Baylor is one of the top teams in the country. Being a tier one Big 12 team should not be a problem and they should expect to make a deep tournament run. This is a team that has national championship aspirations.

By Aidan Joly

The 2019-20 season was supposed to be the best season during the tenure of Greg McDermott at Creighton, what would have been its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance after a 24-7 season that saw it share the Big East regular season title with Villanova. The 24 wins were the most for the program since 2016-17.

Despite the loss of star guard Ty-Shon Alexander, this year’s squad has a chance to be even better.

Even without the do-it-all guard, the Bluejays still boast one of the best backcourts in the Big East, and possibly one of the best in the country. That charge is led by Big East Player of the Year candidate Marcus Zegarowski, alongside Mitch Ballock.

Zegarowski had a fantastic sophomore season that saw him average 16.1 points and 5.0 assists per game, while shooting 42.4% from behind the three-point line. He flirted with the idea of entering the NBA, but decided to come back for another season. Without Alexander to give points to, Zegarowski will have an even larger role and is destined to be one of the best players in the country this season.

Ballock is great, as well. As a junior last year, he averaged 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 36 minutes per contest. He shot 43.5% from three, making this backcourt one of the best in the country in outside shooting.

The last spot in the backcourt still has to be decided, between 6-5 swingman Denzel Mahoney and 6-6 combo Antwann Jones. Mahoney averaged 12.0 points per game in 22.5 minutes. He fits McDermott’s style of up-tempo basketball but sometimes takes bad shots, which may make him more fit to play on the bench. Jones, meanwhile, is now eligible following sitting last year after transferring in from Memphis, where he averaged 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds as a freshman two years ago. Considering Mahoney’s sometimes unpredictable decisions, I’d give the edge to Jones here but they will be sharing time.

Zegarowski and Ballock will get the bulk of the playing time for guards. Off the bench though, you have sophomore Shereef Mitchell and freshman Rati Andronikashvili. They will be able to play in short bursts when the two big names need a quick break.

In the frontcourt, the two starting roles will be occupied by Damien Jefferson and Christian Bishop. Jefferson averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in just over 27 minutes per game, while Bishop had 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. Neither of them are that big, with Bishop being the taller of the pair at 6-7, but McDermott’s teams tend to play small. Both of them figure to see a small offensive boost this year.

When they do need someone big in the middle, they can look to 6-11 bruiser Jacob Epperson off the bench. Epperson has had an injury-plagued career that only allowed him to play in 21 games over the past three years, but his length will be needed in some situations that can make him am important role player. That’s if he can stay healthy, of course.

The rest of the minutes will be battled for between a pair of freshmen. Another 6-11 forward in Ryan Kalkbrenner will be able to add some rim protection. In addition, 6-9 Lithuanian forward Modestas Kancleris will get some playing time as well.

As for how the season will look, they have a deep nonconference schedule and it should be easy for them to get to the 13-game minimum on top of the Big East schedule. They figure to be Villanova’s top competition for the Big East title and a top-10 team nationally. They will be a shoe-in NCAA Tournament team, but now is the time for them to take advantage of that opportunity and make a deep tournament run. They could have done that last year, but COVID had other plans. They have the talent to be a second-weekend team, and that goal is certainly attainable.

By Aidan Joly

This offseason saw tons of roster turnover and NBA Draft declarations come out of the Big Ten. However, the biggest decision came from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Luka Garza opted to return to Iowa City for his senior season after being named the conference player of the year for 2019-20. He led Fran McCaffrey’s high-powered offense with 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest while shooting 35.8% from long range. Iowa finished 20-11 overall and 11-9 in Big Ten play, on their way to what would have been an NCAA Tournament bid after ranking as high as No. 17 in the country.

Garza was named a unanimous first-team All-American, runner-up for the AP National Player of the Year award and was the winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award, given to the top center in the nation.  

Iowa’s offense was the best part of its game all year long, fifth in the nation in assists, 30^th in scoring and second in field goal percentage. However, the main issue was the defense, which allowed more than 72 points per game and had nine games allowing 80 or more points.

However, they can improve on that with not much turnover. The only key losses are Ryan Kriener and Bakari Evelyn, both of whom came off the bench. Kriener averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds, while Evelyn averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 assists.

The returners look great. Joining Garza in the frontcourt is Joe Wieskamp and Connor McCaffrey, the older son of the head coach. Looking at Wieskamp first, he was the second-leading scorer from last season with 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, also second on the squad in 32 minutes played. It’s easy to think those minutes will increase, so the stats should go up a bit as well.

Connor McCaffrey, who stands at just 6-5, will be a small-ball four. He is the glue guy here. He is able to guard multiple positions, shoot well, rebound and be a facilitator on offense. Last year he posted a 4.59:1 assist to turnover ratio, which is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

As for the depth here, they have two pieces. Redshirt sophomore Jack Nunge will be the backup center and probably get chances to play next to Garza. He played just five games last season due to injury, but he is set to be ready for the season. The second piece is Fran’s younger son, Patrick. The younger McCaffrey missed his freshman season due to health issues but should play this year. He entered Iowa as a four-star prospect, rated No. 86 in 247 Sport’s rankings. He’s a potential x-factor with his skills.

For the freshmen, twins Keegan and Kris Murray are both versatile and three-star Josh Ogundele is now here. The twin brothers probably won’t get a ton of playing time but we may see Ogundele occasionally, but he’s third in line among centers.

In the backcourt, Jordan Bohannon returns at point guard. Bohannon played 10 games last year due to a lingering hip injury and in that time averaged under double digits for the first time in his career. However, he had looked off and hopefully will return to past form. The other guard position will be sharpshooter CJ Fredrick. As a freshman last year, he shot 46.1% from three and averaged 10.2 PPG, despite missing some time due to a foot injury. With his shooting skill, he’s a perfect compliment for Garza.

As for the bench, Joey Toussaint had a solid freshman season with 6.2 points and 2.9 assists per game, but shot just 29.7% from three. He’ll be in a starting role eventually, but that isn’t this year.

The recruits coming in here are Tony Perkins, a three-star shooting guard and Ahron Ulis, brother of former Kentucky star Tyler Ulis. Again, it’s tough to see either of them getting a lot of playing time this year.

Overall, Garza is one of the best players in the country, if not the best coming into the year. They should be very good, but the question as to whether they can win the Big Ten and/or make a deep tournament run depends on how the defense looks. They are capable of it, but that remains to be seen.

By Aidan Joly

Seton Hall enters the 2020-21 season in an interesting spot. 2019-20 was the program’s best season in about 25 years, but COVID-19 ended the season before what probably would have been a deep tournament run.

They shared the Big East title with Creighton behind the play of All-American Myles Powell. Now, they are without Powell, who graduated along with Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill, all impact players. However, they return and add some key pieces.

The beginning of the answer to who will replace Powell will start in the frontcourt with Sandro Mamukelashvili. The 6-11 forward was great last season, averaging 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, an impact player on both sides of the floor. The Pirates and head coach Kevin Willard cannot afford to lose Mamukelashvili for any significant length of time after he missed 10 games last season, 11 if you count the nonconference game against Iowa State that he went down five minutes into. He should be playing at an all-conference level this year.

Replacing Gill will be the 7-2 center Ike Obiagu. He played limited minutes last year off the bench and should be sliding into the starting lineup this year. He is known as a natural shot-blocker, which he shouldn’t have a problem with this year. Off the bench, check out sophomore Tyrese Samuel getting a larger role and freshman Jeff Ngandu, a 6-9 forward hailing from the Congo and spent last year playing in Canada.

In the backcourt, the dynamic and most interesting piece is Harvard grad transfer Bryce Aiken. The former top-100 prospect was one of the most coveted grad transfers on the market, despite his injury history that has not allowed him to play a full season since his freshman year and limited him to just seven games last year. However, when he’s healthy he’s great, having averaged 16.7 PPG last year in those seven games. He also was a two-time All-Ivy League first team selection, including 2017, when he also won the league’s Rookie of the Year award. His junior year in 2018-19 was his best season, averaging 22.2 PPG and shooting 39.8% from three.

As for the rest of the starting backcourt, the other two starter roles will be taken on by a pair of versatile wings, Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden. Kevin Willard-coached teams always have a tough defense and these are two guys that can fill the roles left open by McKnight’s departure. Both can also do some good things on offense, Rhoden especially, who had 9.1 PPG and 6.4 RPG last season.

Off the bench, a player to watch is Canisius transfer Takal Molson. He spent last year on the bench for transfer rules but played exceptionally well as a sophomore in 2018-19, averaging 16.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG on his way to an All-MAAC first team nod. The issue with him is that he struggles with efficiency – he’s a volume scorer who takes a lot of shots to get those point totals. However, his efficiency should improve due to the fact that he’s not being relied on as a #1 option, just a complementary piece with the Pirates.

Shavar Reynolds is another guy to watch. He’s the only true shooting guard on the team and is also a versatile player. Reynolds is a shooter, so that should allow him to get a good amount of playing time.

Another pair of three-star freshmen, Jahari Long and Dimingus Stevens, may get shots at certain points as well. Long is a pure point guard and may just be the point guard of the future for Seton Hall. Stevens, meanwhile, is a good outside shooter who can also have a defensive impact with his length.

Overall, Seton Hall is a team that’s tough top gauge. They have talent, but the question is where they will finish in a Big East that has a ton of talented teams once again. Willard has been very consistent in his tenure, so I expect Seton Hall to appear in what would have been its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament.

By Aidan Joly

In a conference that boasts the best of the best in college basketball, Florida State was the best of the bunch this past season with a 26-5 record, 16-4 in the ACC, the school’s second conference championship and finished fourth in the AP poll. They will be looking to remain at the top of the league this coming season.

There are some challenges to this with the losses of Devin Vassell and Trent Forest, but they have new players that will help with that.

Look to the backcourt to hold down the floor. Leonard Hamilton’s teams always preach strong guard play and this year will be no exception. MJ Walker and RayQuan Evans will be the two guys to look to here.

Walker is in a position to be the team leader and the one they run the offense through at the two guard. He averaged 10.6 PPG last season and 36% from behind the three-point line, on his way to an All-ACC Honorable Mention nod. He played 25 minutes per contest last season and expect him to get some more this time around.

Running the point will be Evans. He didn’t have a huge role on the team this past season, just 12 minutes per game, but is expected to have a larger role this year. The question for him is if he will stay healthy, having some nagging injuries and missed two games during the year. If he can stay healthy, he won’t be a major name for the squad, but will have a solid presence on the floor with facilitating the offense along with a little bit of scoring.

Off the bench, JUCO transfer Saardar Calhoun has a chance to win ACC Sixth Man of the Year. He won a NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention after averaging 18.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG with Missouri State-West Plains. A breakout candidate is Anthony Polite after averaging 6.0 PPG last year and shot 35% from three while being a fantastic on-ball defender. Wyatt Wilkes will also offer very good shooting off the bench, look for him to be a guy taking key shots when they need a three.

In the frontcourt, be on the lookout for Scottie Barnes. He is the seventh-ranked recruit in the country according to 247 Sports, and the #1 power forward, standing at 6-9. At Monteverde Academy last year he averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists en route to a 25-0 season and earning a nod to Sports Illustrated’s All-America First team, MaxPreps National Player of the Year finalist and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit. No way around it, he will be an immediate star in Tallahassee. He is a good player inside, a great passer and can throw down highlight-reel dunks.

At center, look for defensive ace grad transfer Tanor Ngom to get the nod. Last year while playing for Ryerson University in Toronto, he averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game to go along with two blocks. Standing at 7-1, he will be very helpful on both sides of the ball.

The last starting spot will go to either Raiquan Gray or Malik Osborne, neither a bad option. Both are solid defensive players and can do some things well on offense as well. Either way, the pair should be sharing time at the three.

Off the bench, look at three-star recruit Quincy Ballard to get some minutes. He averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds and a jaw-dropping six blocks per game at a postgraduate school in North Carolina a year ago. He will help out mostly on defense, where his skill set lies. The first handful of games will be interesting to see what type of player he will be like. Lastly, expect Balsa Koprivica to see an increase in playing time after averaging 10 minutes per game last year in a limited role.

The outlook for this team is similar to last year. As long as things don’t completely fall apart, they will be a shoe-in NCAA Tournament team, and most likely no lower than a five seed. To stay atop the ACC, they will have to beat other heavyweights, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t do that.

By Aidan Joly

Entering his 45^th season at the helm in Syracuse, Jim Boeheim enters the 2020-21 season at a crossroads. The team had some significant losses, but returns a good amount, leading to a season that has some questions for a program that has not won more than 10 conference games since the 2013-14 season.

The Orange are coming off an 18-14 season that kicked off with a 48-34 loss to Virginia, the lowest point total in any game in Boeheim’s tenure. They struggled in the nonconference portion of the schedule and then again towards the end of the season after a stretch of eight wins in 10 games in ACC play and had advanced to the ACC quarterfinals by the time the season was cut short due to COVID-19 concerns.

The biggest loss from last year comes in the form of Elijah Hughes, who led the ACC in scoring last season and was All-ACC first team before he left for the NBA this past summer. In addition, the backcourt took some big hits in the transfer market with Jalen Carey leaving for Rhode Island after playing just two games last year due to a thumb injury that required surgery and a medical redshirt, Brycen Goodine to Providence and Howard Washington to South Alabama.

However, as for the returners, there are a good amount of them, including the solid backcourt duo. Buddy Boeheim averaged 15.3 PPG on 37% shooting from three-point range in his sophomore season, looking to build on that. Joe Girard also returns for a sophomore season after a solid freshman season that saw him average 12.4 points and 3.5 assists per game. As for newcomers, Illinois transfer Alan Griffin received a waiver and will be eligible this season, providing an outside shooting touch. Freshman Kadary Richmond, the 84^th ranked recruit in the country according to 247 Sports, will serve as a depth piece off the bench. He can play a little forward as well, standing at 6-5. He may even be in a position to start at some point in the season with a solid jump shot and good defensive play.

In the frontcourt, they are set to return both Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe. Dolezaj averaged 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last year, while Sidibe had 6.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. As for the depth off the bench, Quincy Gurrier is back after dealing with a nagging groin injury last season, which he played through to the tune of 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. It might be a competition between him and Griffin to start at the 3. Jesse Edwards may very well end up as the backup center, and sharp-shooter Robert Braswell returns after playing just seven games last year with a shin injury, which resulted in him getting a medical redshirt.

There are two interesting points to this team that will almost dictate the season. The first one is how much the defense will improve. Syracuse ranked 116^th in the country in defensive efficiency last season and the 2-3 zone can be exposed through outside shooting and offensive rebounds. They did an okay job at limiting fast breaks, but they need to improve in those two areas.

The second is if they can find a playmaker on the roster to replace Hughes. Hughes did everything well last year and they need to find someone this year. There’s lots of candidates for that (Girard, Boeheim, Griffin and Dolezaj come to mind) and it’s a gap they need to fill.

The bottom line for this group is this: they project as an NCAA Tournament bubble team, like they seem to be every year as of late. The answers to those two questions will be the key to if they are an NCAA or NIT team.